Pele law goes into effect

A new law governing the employment rights of thousands of professional football players in Brazil goes into effect today, allowing them to take control of their own careers.

The law -- which was promoted by football legend Pele when he was Brazil's sports minister -- says players will now be regarded as ordinary workers, ending the practice of binding them to any one team.

However, it gives football clubs time to adapt to the new rules, following complaints that they wouldn't have a chance to profit from their investment in young players if they could leave whenever they wished. Similar regulations on international transfers were agreed earlier this month by the European Union and football's world and European governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service